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triple j Unearthed launches version 2.0

Unearthed is a free community of music makers and music fans, helping independent Australian artists to have their music discovered online.

We’re really happy to this week launch the new version of the triple j Unearthed website. Unearthed is triple j’s initiative to provide opportunities for independent, self-funded Australian musicians to find an audience for their sounds. Since the mid ‘90s, Unearthed has grown from an ‘unsigned demo comp’ rolled out alongside triple j’s national expansion, to a 24/7 online platform for Australian music discovery. With more than 45,000 artists currently on the site, it’s the largest online community of Australian music in existence.

The success of triple j Unearthed is a testament to two previous triple j Managers, Linda Bracken and Ann Chesterman, whose ingenuity and determination built Unearthed as an online entity. In 2006, they created a space where independent Australian music could be heard and discovered by anyone at any time. This was a time when Myspace was king and options like Soundcloud and Bandcamp didn’t exist.

This week marks the first full upgrade of the triple j Unearthed site since that time and introduces a raft of new functionality. If you’re an artist, you can now:

Enjoy improved audio quality of your music with a bitrate increase to 192kbps.

If you’re a music fan, you’ll now have your own profile page where you can:

Follow your favourite artists, triple j presenters and super users.

Create and share playlists of Unearthed music.

Like and collect your favourite tracks.

Embed Unearthed tracks onto other parts of the web.

You’ll find it easier to discover and recommend new Australian music via Unearthed than ever before.

Above: New functionality, new design, new beginning for triple j Unearthed.

For the first time too, you’ll find easy access to the triple j Unearthed digital radio station, via the online player, playlist history and pages with on-demand programs and upcoming program info. Rosie Beaton, Steph Hughes and Dom Alessio have been on air for Unearthed for a couple of years now and curate the best new sounds for you each week on their radio shows, alongside a variety of guest hosts and special programs.

We’re also launching new triple j Unearthed mobile apps for Android and iPhone that provide mobile access to both the Unearthed music database and digital radio station.

And this is just the first step for the renewed Unearthed, with more improvements on the way including full mobile functionality for the site. You’ve now got the chance to tell us what you think and what you need. There’s definitely more to come.

This new version of the site is due to the hard work of triple j Unearthed Executive Producer Stephanie Carrick, Claire Riordan and the ABC Radio Multi-Platform team (led by the aforementioned legend, Linda Bracken). These people and the broader triple j Unearthed team are the unsung heroes of Australian music.

Hip Hop MC Remi Kolawole won the J Award for Unearthed Artist Of The Year in 2013

Again, it’s hard to overstate how big the Unearthed initiative is for triple j and the ABC and more generally the positive impact it has for Australian music.

There is a team of seven people working regularly on Unearthed, spread across Melbourne and Sydney. That team covers both the full-time website and digital radio services, so it’s a small enterprise with a giant impact.

Above: Sydney band Bloods were one of six winners when triple j and NIDA teamed up to produce videos for Unearthed acts in 2013.

A lot of what we judge as the best music from Unearthed finds its way onto the broader triple j playlist and even more national ears. There has been a bit of talk this year about the selection of Australian music that triple j adds to our playlist. We always welcome any discussion about what we’re doing at triple j. However, often people miss the bigger picture of what we’re covering across all our programs and platforms.

triple j and Unearthed are part of the much bigger ecosystem of Australian music. Independent acts can find their way onto triple j via many avenues, not just Unearthed. We have programs such as Home & Hosed and ‘2014’ that dig deeper into the pile of new Australian music, plus our specialist programs that feature the best in Australian hip hop, metal, punk, roots and dance every week for loyal audiences.

Importantly though, Unearthed online creates an efficient space to get your music not just to triple j, but to have it available for anyone interested in new music, including the Australian music industry and other artists. The best parts of Unearthed occur without any intervention from triple j, where artists get contacts and opportunities via their www.triplejunearthed.com profile. Unearthed is an unrivalled database of independent Australian music and it is used by labels, promoters and fans right around the world to find new and exciting sounds for their needs.

We’ve made it efficient for you, but if you want success with your music, don’t just upload to Unearthed and sit back and wait for the phone call. You should be getting your music out to as many places as possible, whether that’s community radio, blogs or street press; all are active supporters of new Australian music. If you’re not getting your music out via multiple avenues, you’re selling yourself short.

And if you’re an Australian music fan, triple j and Unearthed can help you leap off to discover even more sounds. There are numerous great blogs, sites and radio programs for you to find exciting new Australian music. The more you dig, the more you will be rewarded. For now though, get stuck into Unearthed and let us know what you think.

This week’s update for Unearthed is not the last big announcement for triple j in 2014. We’ll soon be relaunching the Dig Music digital station, where we’ll be playing new music that works for a more mature music listener. You can listen and keep across the playlists and feature albums right now as we head towards a full overhaul at the end of April. I think people will be surprised and impressed with what we do with Dig. Stay tuned.